A JOYOUS CELEBRATION



One of the most famous Jewish scholars, Rabbi ben Maimon (Maimonides), referred to the Torah (Pentateuch) as the  “Tree of Life”. A very apt description, considering that amongst many  Jews  this collection of five books is thought of as the very root of Judaism. Many Jews who don’t consider themselves strictly religious, believe that the Torah is the foundation of the Jewish people, and that its moral imperatives are what has preserved Judaism throughout the generations.

Religious Jews read a portion of the Torah (Pentateuch) every single day and when reaching the end - which takes exactly a year - it is celebrated with a Festival called “Joy of the Torah” (Simchat Torah) – which takes place today. Like many of the Jewish customs, it seems bizarre to outsiders. When the famous diarist Samuel Pepys visited a small synagogue celebrating this Festival, he was scandalized!

No one told Pepys  that the day he chose to come to the synagogue was Simchat Torah. Nor had he ever seen in a house of worship anything like the exuberant joy of the day, when the Jews danced with the Torah scroll as if the world was a wedding and the book a bride.

The first word of the Festival “simchah” can also mean “happiness”. There are quite a few differences. Happiness is something long-lasting but joy lives in the moment. Happiness is something you can feel alone, but joy, in the Bible, is something you share with others. Happiness can be a cool and laid-back emotion, but joy makes you want to dance and sing. It is hard to feel happy living in such uncertain times, but you can still experience moments of joy.

As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote: “In one of the most extraordinary lines in the Torah, Moses says that curses will befall the nation not because they served idols or abandoned God, but ‘Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness out of the abundance of all things’”
.
“Joy” is not exactly what comes to mind considering the severity of Judaism as a strict moral code, not to speak of the tear-stained pages of Jewish history. Life, in general, is full of sorrow, pain  and disappointments, but underneath is the wonder that we are here, in a universe filled with beauty.

The English poet Robert Louis Stevenson sums it up very nicely: “Find out where joy resides and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all”



Comments

  1. Myrna/Malka Enker20 October 2019 at 04:56

    Gloria, you outdid yourself in this blog! It says everything I feel about this unusual celebration.
    Keep up the good work for many years to come. In good health and happiness. Love, Malka

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GRANDMA'S ARMY AT WAR

  Six-and-a-haIf years ago I began to write a blog “Grandma’s Army”, as I had seven grandchildren serving in the army at the same time.   Little did I dream that today, that number would jump to seven + ten, Apart from two in the regular army, all the rest are in the Reserves. Both of my sons, who are over 60 years-old, are in army uniform again. They have volunteered to drive army trucks for transport purposes all over the country, after taking a special driving course. Since I began this blog, Azriel and his wife have returned to live in their home on the moshav. They had been evacuated since the beginning of the war, since their home is in the “Gaza envelope”. Azriel has four children and one son-in-law in the army since the beginning. His officer daughter, Adi was called up to the War room of the Gaza Brigade on the second day of the war: “When the first Givati ground forces of the regular army entered Gaza, I knew that my fiancé, Hillel, was amongst them serving a...
Read more

A DIABOLICAL STRATEGY

It’s a verified fact that Hamas has been planning the ongoing war with Israel for decades. Hamas knew that they could not beat Israel militarily.  They also knew that  Israel would retaliate very strongly after the massacre on October 7 th - and the kidnapping and abuse of 252 men, women, children and babies. Hamas spent almost twenty years preparing the Gaza Strip as a killing ground for Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians. The  massive network of tunnels spanned more kilometers than the London Underground and  New York metro combined!  By integrating their military operations throughout civilian infrastructure - these tunnels served as missile launchers and storehouses of lethal weapons underneath kindergartens, schools, hospitals, even mosques, etc. The IDF had no choice but to fight the terrorists from, or close to, residential and commercial areas. In all those years, Hamas deliberately prepared nothing to protect it’s own civilians. On the co...
Read more

GRANDMA'S ARMY AT WAR - I

  My oldest daughter, Simcha, has four sons in the Reserves, plus her son-in-law: Her oldest son, Nir, is a Major in the Givati commandos. He was on his way to volunteer at 11:00 a.m. on October 7 th , before his call-up papers arrived. His present service is connected to Intelligence activities and is not for   the public ear. Omer, from the Givati Battalion, also went straight to his army base on the 7 th of October, before his call-up papers arrived two days later. Givati forces are in charge of combatting terrorism in the Gaza Strip area His first assignment was as Deputy Commander of the Forward Command Squad. Because of chronic back problems, he was transferred to the Battalion’s War Room where he is part of a small team. He monitors orders between the Battalions and Brigades, deals with problems of the ground forces in his command, and records the day’s military activities. Assaf wrote: “At 6 a.m. on Tuesday, October 7 th , my wife Deni left for her work as a nur...
Read more